This invention relates to vehicle-mounted equipment carriers, such as, but not limited to, carriers for transporting bicycles or other recreational equipment on a vehicle, and more particularly to a wedge-type anti-rattle mounting system for a hitch-mounted equipment carrier.
Many vehicle-mounted equipment carriers or racks, such as bicycle racks, are adapted for mounting to an existing hitch receiver on the back of an automobile or truck. A hitch receiver typically includes a square tube, welded to the frame of the vehicle under the rear bumper, with a passage having an open end for receiving a mating coupling on a trailer. The square tube typically has a pair of, or a series of pairs of, aligned holes on opposite sides which allow a locking pin to be inserted transversely to the hitch receiver for securing a trailer hitch to the hitch receiver.
A hitch-mounted bicycle rack is adapted for mounting to such a hitch receiver by means of a coupling bar or tube which is inserted into the open end of the hitch receiver and is retained within the passage of the hitch receiver by a conventional locking pin. A problem with hitch rack designs of this type is that the coupling bar or tube does fit closely inside the passage of the hitch receiver, and slight movements or rattling of the coupling bar or tube result in significant and noticeable wobble at the upper end of the carrier frame which supports the bicycles. As a result, the bicycles are subjected to unnecessary and potentially damaging vibration and rattling.
Many prior art designs have been developed to address this problem. Such designs typically require use of a tool such as a wrench for tightening a bolt or nut that, e.g., draws the coupling bar tight against a wall of the hitch receiver or advances a shim to wedge the coupling bar against the wall of the hitch receiver. While designs of this type function to eliminate rattle between the coupling bar and the hitch receiver, they are disadvantageous in their requirement for a tool that must be used to install and remove the rack. In use, the tool can be misplaced or lost, which can cause a frustrating delay when mounting and/or removing the rack.
What is needed is a hitch mounting system for bicycle hitch racks which can eliminate substantially all wobble and shaking of the rack on the transport vehicle during normal travel, and which does not involve the use of tools for mounting and removal of the rack to and from the hitch receiver.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, an equipment carrier for mounting to a vehicle, which includes a hitch receiver having a series of walls that define a passage having an open end, includes a coupling member, which extends along a longitudinal axis, carried by the equipment carrier and configured to be inserted through the open end and into the hitch receiver passage. A brace member is fixed to the coupling member, and is located exteriorly of the hitch receiver passage and spaced from the open end of the hitch receiver passage. A wedge member is movable relative to the coupling member along a path of movement that is generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the coupling member. A manually operable actuator is positioned between the brace member and the wedge member. When the coupling member is positioned within the hitch receiver passage, operation of the actuator moves the wedge member in a first direction along the path of movement toward the open end of the hitch receiver passage and in a second direction along the path of movement away from the open end of the hitch receiver passage. The wedge member is configured so as to move in a direction transverse to the longitudinal advancement of the wedge member upon advancement in the first direction through the open end of the hitch receiver passage. Such transverse movement of the wedge member brings the wedge member into contact with one or more walls of the hitch receiver, which forces the coupling member against one or more of almost walls of the hitch receiver for preventing rattle of the coupling member within the passage of the hitch receiver. A positioning arrangement, such as a cross-pin, may be employed to fix the axial position of the coupling member relative to the hitch receiver passage.
The brace member may be in the form of a mounting bracket secured to the coupling member, and a lower end of a frame of the equipment carrier may be secured to the mounting bracket.
The coupling member may include a guide recess that defines the path of movement of the wedge member relative to the coupling member. The guide recess may be located at a corner defined by the coupling member. The guide recess and wedge member may be configured such that advancement of the wedge member in the first direction through the open end of the hitch receiver passage causes outward movement of the wedge member at the corner defined by the coupling member and into engagement with a corner defined by the hitch receiver, so as to force one or more surfaces of the coupling member opposite the corner of the coupling member against one or more surfaces of the hitch receiver opposite the corner of the hitch receiver.
The manually operable actuator may be in the form of a selectively extendible and retractable actuator assembly connected between the wedge member and the brace member. The actuator assembly may include a first end secured to the brace member, a second end secured to the wedge member, and a variable length actuator member between the first and second ends. The variable length actuator member may be in the form of a threaded rod and a manually operable rotatable threaded actuator engaged with the threaded rod, such that rotation of the threaded actuator causes axial movement of the threaded rod relative to the threaded actuator for selectively varying the length of the actuator member between the first and second ends.
The present invention also contemplates a method of securing an equipment carrier to a vehicle, substantially in accordance with the foregoing summary.
Other aspects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating certain embodiments of the present invention, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and invention includes all such modifications.
In describing the embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, it is not intended that the invention be limited to be specific terms so selected and is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose. For example, the words “connected,” “attached,” or terms similar thereto are often used. They are not limited to direct connection or attachment, but include connection or attachment to other elements where such connection or attachment is recognized as being equivalent by those skilled in the art.